U-turn on where death boat sank

The Federal Government yesterday backtracked on its claim that 353 asylum seekers en route to Christmas Island on mystery boat SIEV-X drowned in Indonesian waters, outside the range of Australia's intensive aerial surveillance.

The Defence Minister, Robert Hill, reversed his position less than two days after telling the Herald he stood by his March assurance that "all indications" were that SIEV-X sank near the Sunda Strait in Indonesian waters. Asked yesterday whether he still maintained that the boat was in Indonesian waters, Senator Hill said: "We - well we don't know exactly where it sank - what we do is that we didn't have a capability to assist it because we didn't know where it was."

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The about-face exposes the Prime Minister to charges that he misled voters during the election campaign on October 24 - the day after Australian Federal Police intelligence said SIEV-X sank in international waters. "It sank in Indonesian waters - it had nothing to do with the actions of the Australian Government," Mr Howard said then.

Senator Hill's reversal leaves Admiral Geoffrey Smith, head of the defence force search, interception and return operation - which the Government ordered after Tampa - with more questions to answer on the tragedy. In a letter to the Senate's children overboard inquiry last month he said that SIEV-X "foundered in the Sunda Strait", and he retracted his evidence from April that the navy knew nothing of SIEV-X, either before it sank on October 19 or when Indonesian fishing boats rescued survivors on October 20.

In the letter, he admitted he had done nothing to search for SIEV-X after receiving intelligence reports on October 18 and 19 that it was reported to have departed for Christmas Island and then receiving further information on October 20 that it was grossly overcrowded. On October 18, the defence force briefed the Prime Minister's people-smuggling task force that two boats were expected at Christmas Island with "some risk of vessels in poor condition and rescue at sea".

A defence force spokeswoman said the navy would respond to Senator Hill's remarks this afternoon. The Coastwatch chief, Admiral Marcus Bonser, has told the inquiry there was no need for a special search and rescue mission for SIEV-X because "a comprehensive surveillance pattern was in place doing nothing but looking for those boats". But Admiral Smith's retraction letter said that on October 19 aerial surveillance was limited to "close to" Christmas Island.

Speaking on the Nine Network's Sunday program, Senator Hill seemed to withdraw his ban on the head of the defence force children overboard inquiry task force, Admiral Raydon Gates, giving evidence this Friday about his review of all intelligence the navy received on SIEV-X before it sank. Last week he banned Admiral Gates giving evidence as scheduled. Senator Hill said he would now only ban Admiral Gates giving evidence on alleged tampering with a defence force witness.